Is your Dolphin pool cleaner not climbing walls like it used to? It very well could be your  foam roller rings that need to be changed. These rings are used on the front and back combination brushes to assist the robot in climbing pools walls by providing traction. This is especially important when the robot is operating in fiberglass, gunite, or tiled pools.

The biggest question is: ‘Will This Part Fit My Pool Cleaner? And the answer to that question is “Yes”!

The climbing rings are manufacturer part #6101611-R4 which come in a pack of 4 and fit the following cleaners:

To change the foam rings out, the first thing that you will need is a screwdriver. Many of the newer robots have “C” clips where the roller fits into the robot. These “C” clips allow you to take each roller off the robot without removing the side plates. With some of the older Maytronics models you do in fact have to take these side plates off to remove the rollers.

Using the screwdriver as leverage, you can pop the roller right out of the “C” clip. Use this same process on both ends and both sides allowing the tension to ease up and allowing the rollers to be removed.

The foam rings are located on each end of the roller so there’s four in total. The older foam rings on this robot have harden up significantly. If the robot has been out of the water for a longer period of time, these rings will become hard and may need to be changed. The new rings are more pliable and ideally, this is what you want on your robot.

To remove the older rings, take a knife or box cutter and cut across each one. You don’t have to cut all of the way through as you will then take your flathead screwdriver at the same location that you cut and gently twist all of the way across prying under it and slowly breaking through the foam. It should make an audible snapping noise when it completely breaks. At this point you can then remove it from the roller. Use this process to remove each one.

The best thing to do is remove all four foam rings before putting the new ones on with the reason being if it takes you a long time to remove the old rings you don’t want the new ones to start drying up. If your robot has what is called a “split roller” the concept is still exactly the same.

Go ahead and open the  new package of foam rings. They should be damp and easily fit over each end of the roller to be placed exactly where the older ones were. Once all four foam rings are replaced, you can see the difference from the older rings to the new ones. If the foam rings out of the package have firmed up you can place them fully submerged in water and they should loosen up fairly quickly.

To reconnect the rollers, take them one end at a time and one side at a time. Line each side up with the “C” and a firm hit on each side should snap them back into place. The second roller should be a bit more difficult than the first as the track will now be under some tension.

With the tracks aligned on the roller, use the screwdriver to gain some leverage. Pull the roller down over the side with the tracks attached and hold one side down as you move the other and snap both into place. As an extra tip, if you want the roller to catch, there needs to be a bit of a gap between the cork stop and the end of the roller.

One way to tell if your foam rings may need to be replaced is if the exterior edge is falling down below the brush line. If they are below the brush line, they are not coming into contact with the surface that the robot is driving on. Rougher surfaces, like that of gunite, wears the foam rings down after long term use. If your robot is operating in a vinyl liner or fiberglass pool where you may not have to change them out that often.

We are a Maytronics Certified Genuine Parts dealer. Genuine parts are what you always want to go with to keep your pool cleaner in its best condition. We have an on-staff robotic technician as well as a team of professionals who have many years of robotic pool cleaner experience. We would be happy to help advise and answer any questions that you may have. Visit our product page link in the description to purchase these foam rings. Thanks for watching.